The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, participated in the NATO Summit held in Washington D.C., United States, on July 10 and 11. The NATO Summit was held in a context of extraordinary importance due to the current geopolitical situation. It also comes at a special time for the Alliance, as it is commemorating its 75th anniversary and, in addition, it is the first Summit in which Sweden participates as the 32nd ally. In this sense, the President of the Government has defended the validity of a united and cohesive alliance to face global threats.
NATO has sent a strong message of unity and cohesion during the Summit, especially in its support for Ukraine. The allies held a working session with President Zelenski, with whom they discussed all the steps taken by the North Atlantic Council to institutionalize long-term allied support and irreversibly consolidate NATO membership.
This support package includes the initiative for the coordination of training and delivery of non-lethal military equipment, logistical assistance for such delivery and support for the development of the future Ukrainian force to ensure its interoperability with NATO forces. Also the Financial Commitment to support Ukraine estimated at 40 billion euros per year, counting as part of the commitment the military assistance provided to Ukraine.
The Summit also provided an opportunity for a collective assessment of the fulfillment of the defense investment commitment. The President of the Government has defended that Spain has a clear commitment to the goal of 2% defense spending over GDP and a path to achieve it by 2029. Since 2016, the real growth in defense spending is 77% in eight years, almost 10% per year.
In addition, Spain meets above the 20% percentage of investment in new systems, dedicating 30.3% to major equipment and R&D. And it maintains a very significant contribution to NATO missions, with 1,945 military personnel deployed in NATO operations alone.
President Sánchez called for special attention to be paid to the Southern Flank as well, but in a "coherent" way, to avoid the Alliance being accused of having "double standards" in the defense of the values and principles it upholds.
"Whether in Ukraine or in Gaza, we must demand equally and with the same firmness respect for international law. Our strength lies in our unity, but it must also lie in our coherence," the President demanded.
For this reason, he welcomed the approval of the Action Plan for the South, one of the major objectives that Spain had set for this Summit, and which consolidates an increasingly broad and strengthened dialogue and cooperation with the Southern partners. This is "excellent news" - in the words of the President - which provides "more and better attention to a region that clearly deserves it."